Better Asleep than Awake
by Heart2Heroes
Summary: Artemis struggles to keep her bloodlines burried while Wally struggles with how he feels towards Artemis. The team goes on a mission where their personal thoughts are invaded by the mysterious girl, Crystal, while they're under attack by Cadmus and the Shadows. Contains Waltermis, spitfire, because that's the whole plot! Please review and enjoy!
1. Chapter 1, The Start

She could hear her heart beating wildly in her chest. It raced faster with every minute that passed and she, for the first time in her life, felt alive. Yes she felt the excitement of the hunt before, but nothing like this. She could feel the wind brushing against her face as the moon light glittered around her. She loved the feeling more than ever because she had no guilt restraining her from the joy of the fight. For once she fought for the greater good and believed it. She did not cover up her emotions and instead set them free, she was happy fighting the good fight because it was exactly that, the good fight. Artemis leaped in to the air and felt the wind whip around her bare stomach as she shot arrows in zero gravity. The arrows trembled slightly but never hesitated too hit their target, two thieves attempting a get away from a local market. "Tough luck" Artemis thought as the arrow separated in to a net that latched around the men, causing them to hit the ground instantly. She smiled proudly at her accomplishment while an officer peered over his shoulder to see the heroin archer, but she had already disappeared back in to the night to find another unlucky criminal lurking in the dimly lit streets. Artemis enjoyed her life more, knowing she no longer had to fear if what she was doing was right. She knew she was doing the right thing, and she as well as her mother was proud of that. Just one flaw, her dad and sister. She still loved her sister, Jade, and could find the smallest bit of sympathy for her father, buried deep within her heart. They were still very active criminals, and they threatened Artemis' new life as a hero. They also threatened her friendships and new alliances that she cared so much about.

Artemis landed on a nearby roof top and decided to take a break and sit at the edge of the building. It was a cool night and not much activity pursued, which was a disappointment and a relief for her. Again she felt the night wind blow lightly against her skin and rustled circles around her hair. She smiled looking down at the city beneath her feet thinking "who would of thought I'd ever be here" she was pleased with herself, still afraid of the threats her blood lines could cost, yet somewhat at peace with her life's decisions so far. "I have a team. A family, a real family. And this time, I'm not going to lose them again." She raised her head up to peer at the sky and the stars above her head, so close yet so far. "Not this time. You won't take anything else from me… dad" she lowered her head and took deep breaths before standing to her feet. Artemis was a confident brave girl, inside and out, but on the inside she was also fragile and weak. She knew that, but she would never allow anyone else to see it to. She held her bow tightly in her hand before striking another arrow across the sky to the next building. She was heading home to rest, declaring that was enough for one night, before returning to her small but cozy apartment where her mother was most likely asleep. As she sneaked through the window like she usually did, she saw her mother snoring quietly in her chair. Artemis smiled with a small laugh and strolled her mother to her bedroom. She helped her in to bed, as she did so many times before, and closed the door without a sound. Stretching in exhaustion from the day's work, Artemis trudged to her bedroom only to remember she had not studied for the next day's test. She groaned and with a tired expression, opened her books and studied throughout the night.

"Can't be late! Can't be late!" Wally raced through his bedroom scanning his floors for whatever decent clothes he could find. "OH mom is going to kill me if I'm late" he began his normal morning routine, rushing around his room at the speed of light to get dressed and eat breakfast before the bell rang at his school. He zipped forth to his bathroom and brushed his hair and teeth and gave himself a wink in the mirror before skidding to the kitchen. His mother was already there preparing his meal(s) for the day. He sat down panting and gobbling down eggs and sausages, "Wally quit eating so fast, you'll get hiccups!" his mother scolded and Wally ignored her still chowing down. She sighed and only watched the unstoppable Wally gobble down the food his mom had prepared for him. "Thanks mom" he said before racing out the front door with his bag and coat. His mother looked down at the mess Wally had left on the table and shook her head in weariness.

Wally was already long gone. He did arrive to the school on time but only by a single hair. He was already seated in his first period class with his books in front of him, his first subject? History. Wally sunk in his chair as the teacher began their lesson. "Today we will be learning about Greek mythology, and the many god and goddesses it contained." Wally couldn't care less about what the teacher was saying, but he knew he had to get better grades if he wanted his mom to let him stay on the team. Wally heard the teacher name out several names of god's, none of importance until he said the name of a goddess that made Wally sit up in his chair immediately. "..Artemis..." the teacher had Wally's full attention at this point. "Each of you will be assigned a god or goddess to learn about and write a report on them due to me by tomorrow" Wally tilted his head slightly. He knew little to nothing about Greek mythology, but at the sound of Artemis' name, he got curious. " ** _Wait, wait, wait, why am I thinking about Artemis right now?_** " Wally thought as he sat, now uncomfortable in his chair. He shook his head " ** _No. I'm just thinking about what the teacher said_** " Wally was talking to himself in his mind. " ** _Wait... Since when have I ever done either of those?_** " Wally was lost in his train of thoughts as the teacher approached him with a small bucket full of slips of paper. "Mr. West? It is your turn to pick your god/goddess" Wally smiled awkwardly and nodded "right" he reached for a slip of paper praying to heaven he wouldn't get Artemis. His hand grabbed a small piece of paper and brought it up to the surface to reveal the name "Artemis... Great..." he said before settling back in his seat, " ** _Of course I got Artemis._** " He thought.

He had a hard time thinking about Artemis. It wasn't the simple fact that he disliked her; it was why he disliked her. He stared at the piece of paper with her name on it. He convinced himself he disliked her for one main reason, she was annoying. He rested his hand on his cheek, still staring blankly at her name. Sure she was new and didn't completely ruin her first mission, but she did let Cheshire get away, and above that she always smacks him whenever he did something idiotic. He began glaring at the paper. After the whole Bealya incident, he still was unsure how to feel about her, but when the mental mission went down and M'gann made them all lose sight of what the truth was, after **Artemis'** death, he knew how he felt. But he refused to feel that way about her of all people. Refused. Wally was so caught up with his thinking he barely noticed the girl standing in front of her. "Hey" she said faintly while Wally was slowly returning to Earth "Are you ok?" said the girl still using a small voice. Wally escaped his hypnotic state and responded "yeah, fine. Why do you ask?" the girl smiled "Because you've been staring at your paper for quite some time now." She laughed. "Oh... Just tired" he returned a smile and she sat beside of him "Who are you any ways?" she only stared at the front of the class and back, she spoke as if she didn't hear him "Artemis is an interesting character, is she not?" Wally gave the girl a funny look and responded sarcastically "Totally" the girl looked at him for a moment with an innocent smile "…You're a stubborn boy, Wally" said the girl and he looked at her even more strangely. "what? How do you know my-"the teacher walked over to him and interrupted his sentence "Mr. West? Who are you talking to?" Wally turned to the teacher and back "Her-"the girl was gone. He thought he was going insane. "Um…" was the only thing he managed to say. The teacher gave him a concerned look, "Do you need to see the nurse?" Wally shook his head "No I'm fine" he said nervously, lowering his head to the desk, realizing the whole class was looking at him. " _ **What the heck was that…?**_ "

Artemis was yawning uncontrollably as she entered Mount Justice. Through her mask you could see her silvery eyes watering up like a mist. She rubbed them and stretched her back out with a silent groan. She made her way to the couch when just as she sat down, the boy wonder with his usual mischievous smirk walked in. "Well you look well rested" robin said as he entered. Artemis yawned and responded with a sarcastic voice "Isn't it obvious?" robin snickered at Artemis' response. "I hope you're ready for today's mission, I heard it would be a big one" Artemis sat up and eyed Robin "What do you mean by 'big one'" she said slightly worried. "Relax, Artemis you'll see when we get there" Robin said as he crossed his arms behind his head, still smiling. "Hey, Rob!" said a ginger haired boy as he entered the room. "The strangest-"his line cut off at the sight of Artemis sitting beside Robin. Artemis was to sleepy to notice his sudden silence, since she tuned him out any ways, but Robin noticed "What's the matter kf?" said Robin with a smile that turned in to a smirk. Wally shook his head to take his focus off the tired blond sitting peacefully in her own little world "n-nothing.." he said returning his eyes to the now highly amused boy. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Wally asked, crossing his arms and eyeing robin suspiciously "Nothing at all, kf" he murmured still smirking. Wally rolled his eyes, " ** _Typical boy 'wonder'_** " Wally thought. Before either of them could say another word, M'gann flew in "Guy's! They're about to give us our mission, c'mon let's go!" Wally changed his expression to a smile at the sight of M'gann, "right after you, babe" M'gann rolled her eyes as usual and made her way down the hall. Robin had already left the room leaving Wally and an assumingly asleep Artemis alone.

Wally debated whether to wake her or to leave her there. He groaned knowing what the obvious answer was. He zipped over to the snoring blond, vulnerably unaware of her surroundings. For once she didn't look like a crazed girl with a bitter attitude, she looked peaceful "…almost beautiful… No. Beautiful." Wally thought as he reached to her shoulder and gave it a small nudge. She mumbled something he could barely understand, and she opened her eyes slowly. She gazed at him with her bright silver eyes and Wally couldn't help but get lost in them. He drew closer without realizing it and as Artemis opened her eyes completely; she was startled by the yellow masked boy that was inches away from her. She yelped and pushed him back, accidentally. He yelped in return " ** _What was I doing!"_** Wally's thoughts raced faster than his heart. Artemis stared at him in shock. "I was… you… I was waking you up!" he blurted out "Our mission is about to be given to us so.. So I woke you up!" Artemis calmed down her shocked expression, and gave Wally a strange yet sincere look. "Thanks?" she said before slowly turning to head to where everyone else had gone. Wally was speechless. " ** _Was I really about to…_** " Wally shook his head at the thought "No, no, no!" he said before following Artemis and the others. Everyone was standing with their attention to Batman who spoke in his usual deep voice. Artemis glanced at Wally as he entered but quickly turned back. They both had the same thought in their mind " ** _What just happened?"_**


	2. Chapter 2, Downfall

Everyone looked at Batman with full focus. He spoke deeply but definitely loud enough for the whole team to hear. "A young girl by the name of Crystal is being held captive by who we suspect are Cadmus **and** the shadows working together" everyone had a slight gasp at the mention of the shadows and Cadmus working together. Batman continued "Crystal was their target because of the abilities she possesses. Crystal has the ability to create anything in her imagination in to a reality. For what they have planned for her, we are not certain, but the mission is to rescue Crystal and bring her back unharmed. If she has created any sort of surreal reality we would need to convince her to change things back once she returns." The room fell silent for a moment more; Batman was allowing the team to process the information being given. "You will be sent to where we suspect the base is hidden. Your coordinates are already logged in to the bioship." And with that Batman had already began walking towards the zeta tubes. Red Tornado wished the team good luck before they all suited up and went out towards the bioship. Artemis and Wally were strangely quiet, Robin was deep in thought about the mission at hand and Aqualad was already figuring out what direct priorities were. Superboy silently boarded the ship, which was normal, and M'gann sat in the piloting chair. Everyone was quiet, thinking about either their mission or personal thoughts. M'gann smiled "Prepare for lift off" she said in an effort to break the silence.

No response. She sighed " ** _good try though._** "

Artemis tried to forget Wally's sudden 'interruption' of her sleep back at the cave. " ** _Team first, personal life later_** " she told herself repeatedly. But no matter how many times she said it, it remained floating very obviously in the back of her mind. Ever since she heard of Wally's sudden reaction after her death in the exercise, she never stopped wondering how he truly felt about her. She knew she had feelings for him, but she rather not confront them, therefor her everyday life was to keep kid dork away from her soft spots. Still, if he did like her, " ** _no…_** " thought Artemis. After all the annoying arguments, he was probably just worried on who he was going to blame every time something went wrong. Artemis had a slightly angry expression on her face as she looked out the window in to the clear sky. After everything the team had been through, everything they've been through, Kid dork had never grown up. " ** _I wonder what he's thinking right now…_** "

Wally shuffled uncomfortably in his seat. He was resting his head in his hands and had sealed his eyes shut so he could think more clearly. But the only thing he could think about was " ** _Artemis_**." He grunted under his breath, extremely irritated. " ** _Dude! Why can't you stop saying her name… just stop thinking about her!_** " he tilted his head as discreetly as he could to see the archer gazing out the window. He turned back " ** _ugh why can't I get her out of my head all of a sudden_** " Wally squirmed in his seat, twisting and turning several times in an attempt to get comfortable. He could not. He sighed in defeat now opening his eyes completely, giving a blank look towards the desk. He ruffled his hands through his hair and realized the more he fought it the more uncontrollable it would get. " ** _Alright_** ** _, fine_** ** _, maybe I_** ** _do_** ** _have_** ** _some_** ** _feelings for her_** " he lowered his head in defeat " ** _But I still won't tell her..._** " he said before looking at her once more. She didn't notice, her eyes were directed out to the open sky, and her golden hair was still resting on her back, curled at the tip as always with a beautiful glow. "What have you done to me" he whispered with a faint smile before returning his eyes to the front of him. " ** _Now focus on the mission_**."

The team had arrived soon after everyone had finally seemed to have settled down. They were no longer deep in thought, but instead fully awake and physically prepared to take on the mission. The coordinates led them to a nearly deserted area in the woods of Alaska. "Why on Earth, would they decide to set up here?" Kid Flash openly stated with a shiver. Robin shook his head ignoring the question. He looked on to the light projected from his wrist. "It says here that the building we need to be searching for is right over there" Robin pointed at a tall, abandoned looking factory. Snow was everywhere because it was early in December, and the trees were dropping slumps of snow so everyone was constantly looking up to make sure nothing landed on them. They all had there suits set to white and wore their usual winter outfits for on the job occasions. Superboy, impatient as always, stormed along "So what are you guys waiting for?" Aqualad sighed and followed as did the others.

"Batman said this girl had the ability to change anything she wanted in to some form of her imagination," said M'gann telepathically as they walked across the freezing snow, "what exactly are we getting ourselves in to?" Robin answered "I'm not sure, but Batman wouldn't have assigned it if he knew we couldn't handle it" Everyone mentally agreed. Batman basically knew exactly what their capable of, and never gave them something that was too hard for them to chew on. The only reason for failed missions was because someone wasn't on their full game, or they purposely screwed up. Wally shuddered. Though he finally admitted to his feelings, he could never get past the fact that there was so much about Artemis he didn't know. Not to mention the fact that there was a so called "mole" on the team. He did not want to believe it was her, he never did, no matter how much he disliked her before, but the possibility made sense. If it is Artemis, Wally would never forgive her. He already set his mind on that, " ** _but it can't be…"_** he said looking at Artemis as she trudged through the snow, " ** _She hasn't done anything to truly prove she's guilty._** "

The team arrived at the door of the building. Robin cautiously opened it and peered through. When he saw nothing, he gave the team the signal so they could go in further. "I guess it really is abandoned" murmured Kid Flash telepathically. "I guess but…" Robin went silent and everyone looked at him to see why he didn't finish his sentence. He stared at an open door and soon the whole team saw what had caught his eye and made him speechless. In the doorway, the view of Poison Ivy, Count Vertigo, and Sportsmaster were in plain sight. The thing was, they stared directly at the team and the team stared directly back. Apparently, they had both been caught off guard. Robin did not hesitate a moment further, neither did Artemis. She fired arrows at them but they were slowed and suddenly hit the ground before reaching them. Robin had thrown his famous disc shaped bombs only to get the same effect. Kid Flash took action with his speed and raced towards them but suddenly fell forward with a quiet groan. Ivy and Vertigo were amused at the sight of the quickly defeated boy. Artemis growled and tried to get closer, still firing failing arrows. As she stepped closer she soon fell near Wally, completely out, without a sound. Superboy seemed to be already down because by the time Robin turned to see him, he was face down, flat on the concrete floor. " ** _What is happening?_** " Robin questioned telepathically but soon found that the connection was off. M'gann and Aqualad were already down, "Poor, poor hero." Said Vertigo with a satisfied chuckle. Before Robin had time to respond with any further action, he became dizzy and just like that ' _thunk'_ Robin was out and shared the same fate as his teammates.

"Now Crystal, well done. Make sure you keep the little intruders there until we are done." Spoke Ivy before turning around and continuing the conversation with the others. The girl with dark, black hair nodded as she exited the doorway to see the fallen heroes. She had the face that not even an infant child could carry of innocence. The girl eyed the defeated Wally that lay cold on the floor, " **I'm sorry.** "


	3. Chapter 3, Memories

" ** _Where… where am I…?_** " Wally groaned at an aching headache that crawled deep in his brain. He put his hand over his head and groaned, " ** _I need to start carrying headache relieving medicine around with so many of these brain blasts…_** " he thought as he observed the area he was in. Everything was white, like he was in a world of nothingness. "Hello! Robin? Miss Martian? Artemis?" he looked around confused by the unknown location. His eyes scurried around him looking for something to focus on, but everywhere he looked, he could only see the color white. " ** _Am… am I going blind?!_** " he panicked but stepped back after the sound of someone else in his head. " ** _No Wally, you aren't blind._** " It sounded like a young girl. " ** _M'gann_**?" asked Wally still uncertain about him being blind or not. " ** _No._** " said the voice and Wally turned to see if someone, anyone was talking to him. " ** _Then who are you? Where is everybody?_** " the voice responded " ** _Not important._** " Wally thought for a moment, the voice sounded familiar, yet it was not the voice of either of his female teammates, " ** _Wait… you're the girl that I talked to in school! The one who came and vanished out of nowhere!_** " The girl responded quickly, the voice was calm and nearly silent compared to Wally's now increasing volume. " ** _Yes._** " Wally was frustrated and now had a million questions running through his mind, " ** _Who are you?"_** was what he first asked. " ** _Not important_** " She repeated, causing the red head to grow even more frustrated, "What do you want from us?!" he yelled out to the mysterious voice, " ** _You will find out soon enough_** " and at the end of her brief answer, the white began to fade, and Wally was suddenly back in his room.

The strange thing was he could see himself sitting on his own bed. " ** _Am I dead? Or dreaming? Because none of this is making sense_** " He told himself as the image of Wally slowly stood up out from his mattress and on to the fuzzy floor in his room. Wally watched as he saw himself sneak through his door and zip down the stairs. He thought for a moment whether he should stay put or follow himself. In the end decided to go along with it. Downstairs he watched as the image of Wally walked over towards the all too familiar kitchen in his house where his mother and father were busy with cooking or filling out bills. " _Mom, can I please visit Uncle Barry today? He's been gone for so long… What if he wants to see me? After all, he's been locked up in that hospital room for heck knows how long…_ " his mother sighed, " _Wally, I know you're worried, but you heard very well what the doctor's said, no visitors unless they are blood related. Not my rules_." The image of Wally groaned and slumped over in a chair. Kid Flash gasped and knew exactly what was happening. This was a memory he was reliving, " ** _this was the day I begged mom to visit Barry in the hospital… he had been hurt really bad, even with his ability to heal quickly, his chances of living were little too none… I forget who exactly hurt him that badly_** " he thought for a moment more and tightened his fist when he remembered, " ** _Grodd._** " He said to himself as he continued to watch his parents preparing things as they did on that very day. Wally himself couldn't help but feel depressed to relive the moment. The figure of him moped around the kitchen for a while, even the sight of food could not help him feel better, his mother obviously noticed that and looked at him with concerned eyes, " _Wally, you should go see if there are any missions to attend to right now. Maybe the team needs you_ ** _._** " She said with a sweet, hopeful voice.

The sad boy looked up at her to consider the idea. " _Alright, mom_ …" he said as he slowly shifted off the seat and began walking to the door. The thick haze of depression was noticeable over the once jolly red head. The present Wally looked at himself trudge and began to tear up slightly, he remembered those days without Barry all too well, they were a dark time for him. As the 'shadow' Wally made his way to the door and sped out towards the cave, present Wally followed him, to continue reliving that horrible day.

Artemis was panicking, nearly losing her mind. She could not stand to see that everywhere she looked was completely white, absolutely nothing was there. It made her feel closed in and anxious. "Where am I!?"

She yelled rubbing her arms and looking around herself in utter panic. "Where's the team? Where's my bow? Why am I here?!" she continued to yell out in to the blank world.

She was at the verge of going insane when finally she heard a voice. " **Stop worrying, Artemis, you're going to be ok**." Said the voice of, what Artemis labeled as a young girl. "What do you want from me? Where are my teammates?"

Artemis' voice began to crack due to the lump forming in her throat. She was concerned for them. " **They're safe**." Said the voice of the young girl. Artemis looked everywhere to see where the voice was coming from. "Where are you? Who are you?" the girl took a moment longer to respond, " **Not important.** "

Artemis sighed and tried her best to calm herself. "I need to know something!" said the archer as her confidence and courage began to return. " **You will know what you need to know soon enough.** "

Before Artemis could reply with a bitter insult, the white space transformed to her own bedroom. It was empty but familiar, as if the whole thing had been a dream and she just now had awoken from it. " ** _How did I-_** "the door opened and Artemis quickly leaped behind one of the beds only to realize she had went right through it. " ** _What…?_** " Artemis was even more confused as she noticed the figure entering her room was none other than herself. " ** _What in the world is happening…?_** " Artemis said in her mind as she saw herself enter the room and fall on to the bed in despair. She watched as she curled up in to a ball and sobbed in to her knees. Artemis lifted a brow in confusion, "Is that… me?" she whispered while she walked up to her identical looking self, who seemed to be unaware of any one else's presence in the room. "Hello?" Artemis said aloud to the figure, but it did not seem to notice. When Artemis reached to place her hand on the other's shoulder, it went right through, just as she did on the bed. "What…?" she said but quickly went quiet as the figure of her sat up, puffy eyed from crying and looked right at her. Artemis froze but soon noticed the figure was not looking at her, she was looking behind her. Artemis walked slowly to the side to see that her other self was staring at the poster on the wall, the one of 'Alice in Wonderland'. After some sniffles, the other Artemis finally spoke, " _It didn't have to be this way… we could have been a real family… why couldn't we have stuck together…? We could have left dad behind and continued our lives like normal when mom got out of jail… things could have been… better…_ "

The real Artemis stepped back in shock, covering her mouth at realizing what was happening. She was reliving the memory of when she had confronted her sister, Jade, after being put on the team. It broke her heart to see Jade was one of the people Artemis would be fighting against. It reminded her of all the things that went so wrong in her childhood, and how many times she had tried to imagine how much better things could have been if they had only been a normal, real family. Artemis shuddered to see herself in such a depressing state, she knew she had weak moments, but to physically relive and see them was a whole other level of sadness and embarrassment. If anyone else was watching her cry, she would have felt ashamed.

" _But no… of course everyone had to live their own life, make their own decisions… suffer their own mistakes…_ " the shadow Artemis lowered her head as fresh tears trickled down her cheeks and on to the bed.

" _If this is the way things had to be then fine… every girl for herself…_ " just as a silent moment passed where the present Artemis was about to break at the sight of herself crying, her mother walked in. Shadow Artemis jumped back on her bed as her mother strolled in closer. She did not want her mother to see her cry. " _Artemis?_ " the voice was small but warm as usual, " _What's the matter? Are you_ -"" _Yes, mom. I'm fine, and can you knock next time please?_ " interrupted Artemis as she quickly stood up and placed her mask over her face and reached for her folded up bow.

" _Uh yes, I'm sorry, wait where are you going?_ " Artemis' mother asked while the archer made her way towards the door.

" _Nowhere, mom… I just… I just want to be alone_." And just like that, the door was slammed, leaving present Artemis and her mother dumbfounded.

The real Artemis whispered an apology to her mother before following her past self. She slowly began to remember the day and immediately regretted it. To remember the events that led up to that moment made her cry discreetly, even when she was alone, the people around her felt so real, she dare not allow a tear to escape her eyes.

She knew where she was heading. She followed herself to the cave.

After running a reasonably short distance to Mount Justice, present and past Wally had arrived to the mission room only to find it was empty. He had met up with Red Tornado who had told him every one was out doing their own thing. Robin was on missions with Batman out in Gotham, and M'gann and Conner were spending time together. Past Wally rolled his head and made his way to the kitchen. Wally had to admit, seeing himself go through a past event was weird, but seeing himself in such a rare state was even weirder, and harder for him to handle. Shadow Wally walked to the fridge and grabbed the first quick-to-grab snack he could find. Ice cream. And walked to the couch alone in the now hollow mountain.

As he sat down he noticed something. He noticed someone. Both Wally's were shocked to see a blond haired archer seated on the opposite side of the couch. " ** _How could I forget she was here?_** " thought present Wally as shadow Wally slowly and awkwardly sat down still staring at the silent girl.

~Memory~

 _Wally sat silently on the other side of the couch from Artemis. She didn't seem to notice he was there. She sat with her head resting on her knees. Wally felt weird, not only because he was practically alone with Artemis in the cave, but mostly because she was different. She did not look like normal annoying, happy Artemis, in fact, she looked a little empty. Wally frowned because he was not really used to the sight of her like that and without thinking, spoke. "Artemis?" he instantly smacked himself mentally for talking. Artemis looked up at him in complete surprise. Her eyes were red and watery looking. Wally nearly gasped at the look of her face._ _ **"Is she… crying?!"**_ _Wally had never seen Artemis cry, he had never even seen her sad. The only Artemis he knew was a happy, annoying, and irritated one. "W-what's wrong?"_

 _Artemis froze for a moment unable to speak. Her mouth grew dry and a lump began to form in her throat. She quickly wiped her eyes and spoke in a voice no one, not even herself, had ever heard before. She sounded sad. "Great, why do you ask Baywatch?" she said with a small sniffle. Her face was still a bright red with an almost drowsy appearance, but Artemis was making herself believe she was completely fine and everyone else saw her as completely fine._

 _Wally tilted his head and looked at Artemis as if she just said she was an alien from another planet. "_ _ **Is thee Artemis Crock, Thee brave and confident Archer, crying?!**_ _" It took Wally almost two minutes too fully process the fact that she was crying. It caught him completely off guard, so he had no idea how to react. "um… no, no it's not." Artemis sighed and lowered her head as a response. Wally felt powerless and heavy hearted to see her like this. As awkward as he knew it would feel, he decided to move in closer and see how she would respond. He slowly scooted closer and waited to see what she would do. Nothing._

 _He went in closer._

 _He scooted so close that he could feel the heat steaming off her, yet she never said a word, she didn't even move._

 _Wally swallowed hard and prayed she wouldn't strangle him for what he was about to do._

 _He hugged her._

 _He gave her a full embrace, and paused for a moment so she could shove him off and yell at him. But to his surprise, she hugged back and as awkward as he expected the hug to be, it was actually very warm, and comforting._

 _Artemis didn't know why exactly she hugged back. But she did. It was unexpected, but Artemis soon realized she wanted it to happen. She hugged back as tight as she could with her eyes closed as she rested her head on his shoulder._

 _He was warm and very welcoming when she decided to squirm in closer. She no longer had the urge to keep her defense up, and waited for her tears to fall out like rain, but they didn't._

 _With his hug, kid dork's hug, Wally's hug,_

 _She felt happy._

 _How the whole feeling shifted so rapidly by a simple touch of his hand was unexplainable. But it happened. Artemis smiled._

 _Wally could feel Artemis' grip tightening around his shoulders. He could feel her heart beating slowly on his chest. Calmly._

 _Something about her made him feel secure, almost at peace. He hesitated for a moment but suddenly twisted his fingers around her curly, golden hair. All of the empty, cold, and alone feelings melted away and was replaced by the warm touch of Artemis._

 _His heart raced slightly against hers and he smiled with his eyes closed. He had no intention of letting go any time soon, and he didn't think she did either. He enjoyed every minute of the hug until the very last moment where they both slowly separated. His eyes opened as well as hers and the gleamed at each other for a moment._

 _They felt like they were in a dreamy state as the other got lost in the moment. Wally got as close as he could to the silver eyed beauty, and leaned in for a small kiss. When their lips touched it felt like static had filled their bodies._

 _They could feel the other smiling in the kiss as they both enjoyed it equally as much._

 _Artemis and Wally slowly departed and shifted back. Their eyes were closed as they created space between them. When their eyes opened, Artemis had no trouble keeping them wide open this time. Wally mimicked her facial expression. They both had awoken from a day dream, and wished they hadn't. Not only because of how perfect it was, but also because it was their only gateway from their reality._

 _Artemis looked away to the floor. She was not regretting what they had just done, but instead remembering it. She sat up slowly and made her way out of the cave in silence. She smiled faintly as she left with her heart still flickering like a bright flame._

 _Wally remained seated and watched as the tall archer left the room. He could still feel the heat on his lips and the heat in his heart. He had no words and no thoughts yet everything seemed clearer. He was no longer sad, not lingering on a depressed feeling, he was happy. Even with everything that was happening around him._

 _He was happy. Happy he had Artemis in his life, and that he was able to live that moment._

And able to relive it.

The memory suddenly faded and transformed back in to the white, blank space he started in. Though something caught his eye, someone caught his eye. Artemis. She was standing in front of him, no more than 5 feet away staring right back. She looked more beautiful then he could remember, with a soft expression being played on her face. She looked just as she did in the memory. He walked towards her as did she, and as he reached out for her cheek expecting to have his hand go right through her face, it landed. Gently against her skin.

Artemis' cheek tingled at his light touch. She looked at him in amazement to discover this was no longer a shadow; this was the Wally, the real Wally.

They both had a moment of shock only to jump right back in to the memory they had before. He wrapped his arms around her, relieved that not only was he no longer alone, but that he was with Artemis and no one else.

Artemis reached her arms around his shoulders like she did that moment so long ago.

Though they relived a terrible moment in their lives,

They were glad they did.

Because they got to relive feeling that amazing feeling in their hearts again. Wally had reached over her soft, silky hair, and just as he leaned in further to seal their heart's wishes, she was gone.

Wally was alone again.

Artemis was alone again.

And just like before,

They were awake.


	4. Chapter 4, The Archer

Artemis arose in a dark room. There was only one visible light that flickered above her on the ceiling. She had no idea where she was, nor what was happening. "Gah…" Artemis groaned as she sat up on the stone floor to rub her aching head. She was confused, was she dreaming the whole time? "Wally…?" she whispered as she inspected the area that surrounded her. Nothing was familiar about it, it had nothing but walls with wallpaper that was already peeling off, the lone light bulb that needed to be changed, and a door that had a window that was now broken through. She shook her to rid herself of the pain, " ** _No… no Wally here, but then where? Did I just dream everything? Better question, how did I get here?_** "

She stood up and leaned against the wall, making her way to the door. Before she could reach the golden knob that was slightly rusted on the edges, her way to escape, someone pushed forward and opened it completely. Artemis was prepared to see herself again, believing her surroundings were some kind of memory she had forgotten again, but it wasn't. The person who walked through the door was Cheshire, better known as Jade, her sister.

Artemis waited for her dark haired sister to talk to something behind her, but instead, she knew her sister was looking right at her, and talking directly to her. "Heeey sissss" Cheshire spoke with her usual lisp, especially while in her mask. Artemis looked at her strangely; her eyes could barely focus on anything, due to a blurry vision. "W-where am I?" said the shaken girl in an almost trembling voice to her sister with a hidden expression.

The mask she wore seemed to be mocking her as Cheshire responded, "You're home, your real home." The voice seemed to be echoing in Artemis' mind, "w-w-what do you m-mean?" Artemis was now hunched over on the wall, feeling nauseous as an effect of her enormous headache. "Dad hass been waiting for you to wake up" Artemis, as shaken as she was, understood what Jade was saying completely, "You're not… my family… anymore…" She managed to speak with a deep groan. Though Jade wore a mask that hid her face, her slowed and softer response let Artemis know her words wounded her, "You believe that they're your real family? **Wake up** , Artemis, they barley trust you let alone consider you any more than a teammate." Cheshire growled in a slightly angry tone and her words went straight to Artemis' heart, "Not true… and the mistrust… is your fault…" Artemis looked up to see jade's mask pointed towards the floor. Cheshire returned her gaze to a weak Artemis, "You're so stupid Artemis…" She muttered before walking towards her and escorting her out of the room.

Artemis struggled but was in no position to fight. She felt dizzy and she could barely make out the objects in front of her, "W-where… are you… taking me…?" Cheshire groaned still dragging her practically drunk sister, "You'll see, just… work with me here"

After some trudging in a narrow hall, the two girls finally made it to a sealed door which Jade quickly opened. She helped Artemis in and set her back on the floor in front of several people. Artemis was practically blind, her eyes could see as if they were looking through a fogged glass at everything. "Who… are you people?" she said trying to sound as strong as she possibly could. "Shhh, Artemis" whispered her sister who was now standing behind her. Artemis ignored her and only spoke louder, "Where am I? Where is my team?" the people standing in front of her, looking down at her as if she were a small toddler and they, adults consulting something important. It annoyed Artemis, "Answer me!" a voice thundered over her, "We answer to no one!" It sounded familiar. Nauseatingly familiar, Vertigo. Artemis now knew one of the people in the room, and that's when it hit her. He was starting to remember what had happened before the memory faze. " ** _We were heading on a mission to find some girl… Sportsmaster, Ivy, and Vertigo were in the door way and… we all suddenly just… passed out…"_** She placed her hand on her head once again. As she looked back up at her captors she realized her vision had gotten clearer. Sportsmaster, Vertigo, and…" ** _The brain?_** **_What… what are they doing together?!_** "

Artemis stared darts in to all three of them. Finally, one spoke. "Just keep quiet Artemis. You're going to listen to what we have to say, and if you're smart, you'll make the right choice."

Artemis mentally gaged at the sound of her father's voice. She turned to see Jade standing quietly in a corner of the room. Artemis gave her a look of disapproval, a look that said " _Why did you bring me here?"  
_ Cheshire responded with a turn of the head to look the other way. Though her sister fought for the good guys, Jade still cared about her. Something about Artemis, not only being her sister, but maybe because she was the only innocent of the family. Maybe the only one that was born with a good heart while the rest… had a heart of a chilling stone. Jade had a soft spot for Artemis, no doubt about it, but she will never join her side.

It's already too late for her.

"I know I've told you before Artemis, but I guess you didn't hear me the first time. So I'll repeat. You know your team has **no trust** for you, you know they dislike you. You know where **you belong** , and you know very well **who you are**. No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try to **fight it** , you will always be **my daughter**. **Jade's sister**." Cheshire was listening with hidden face of dread behind her smiling mask. " **We** are your real family. Not them. We are. It's time to wake up from that silly **dream** of yours, and wake up to your **reality** , your common senses. You belong with **us** , **not** them."

Artemis lowered her head and tilted it just enough so that one eye could be seen glaring at her dad. She felt her fists tighten and her teeth clench together tightly, hot tears wanted to escape but Artemis would not allow it. "I know I've told you before, dad, but I guess you didn't hear me the first time, so I'll repeat. No. You're not my family anymore. They are. And I don't care what you say or what you do to try and change that. They will always be my real family."

Cheshire crossed her arms as Artemis stood up before the villains. " ** _Stupid Artemis."_** She thought as she awaited the reaction of their now, very pissed off dad.

"You know how I feel about disobedience, Artemis." He replied stiffly and Artemis shot back instantly, "Sure dad. But for the first time in my life, I have no problem fighting back." The archer cracked her hands and kept her glare directed towards the man wearing a ski mask. She shook all the fear she had off and was prepared to let out her anger.

Cheshire was ready to step in, but before she could react, Sportsmaster laughed and turned to walk away. "I don't even know why I bother with you. You're no daughter of mine." He said before raising his head and exiting the room.

Artemis knew she no longer wanted him as a father, but it disgusted her that he felt he had the right to disown her. It tore her down on the inside, but once again, the brave girl shook it off and stood ready for anything the brain or vertigo would do. Cheshire had followed Sportsmaster out, leaving Artemis alone with the villains. They too slowly stepped back, introducing the girl behind them.

"Come now Crystal, dispose of this… disgrace for us while we get back to important business."

The young, innocent girl nodded and looked at Artemis with sorry eyes. Artemis looked back in to them confused, and before she could think of anything, she was out once again.

Out cold on the floor, asleep.

" **You're a very brave girl. You must have had some wit to stand against them, especially having no powers. They could have easily torn you apart right then and there, which I'm sure you knew. Yet you still had the courage of a tiger. I know it must be hard for you to understand everything right now, but I promise it will be over soon. Our suffering will be over and you can return to the one you love. You love that boy. Did you know that? You probably need some more time to let your feelings settle, but you do. Don't worry. He loves you too. He is safe, but in danger. When you awaken, pay attention to what the shadows discuss. I have a way to connect you to him, but remember what I am saying. Listen to them carefully, or suffer the consequences.** "


	5. Chapter 5, Wide Awake

I felt a cool rush flow through my face as i was suddenly snapped back into the world. As soon as I opened my eyes the first thing that came to mind was Artemis. I didn't care about where i was or how i had even gotten there, the first and only person i wanted to see at that point was Artemis.

"w-where is she?" I stuttered and scanned my surroundings. Unfortunately, the first thing i saw was not Artemis, in fact it wasn't even a person, it was a wall. A poorly painted rotting wall.

"Where is she!" i yelled out. I realized my hands were chained to a wall and I tried my best to free them. I shook and vibrated and used up my strength but I realized i was wasting my time.

"Where is she!?"

"KF Calm down you're going to attract attention to yourself"

Finally a familiar voice,

"Rob! Where are we?"

I waited for an answer for almost a minute and was about to ask again until he finally answered,

"I don't… know"

"Cant you find out?" I talked quieter, "don't you have your utility belt thingy that can free us?"

I heard Robin groan, "No. Someone took it off me. Hey kf, what girl are you looking for, because Miss Martain's in the room beside me. She's still unconscious."

I shook my head,

"No… where's Artemis?"

Robin was silent for another moment.

"She was taken. After getting brain blasted by the girl we came to rescue, I guess we were dragged off to this spot and I awoke before everyone else. I saw Miss Martian and superboy get put into their own rooms as well as you, the only person who was placed who knows where was Artemis."

I sighed and started thinking about things that could have happened to her, none were good and before I could say anything else, Robin spoke again.

"Wait a moment, why were you looking for Artemis and not Miss M?"

I could hear the smirk growing on his face,

"Because… I figured she… maybe they.. because… ugh we don't have time for this, we have to figure a way out of this mess!"

"Right, Romeo, and let me guess, the next task is to find Juliet?" he snickered.

"Shut up Rob this isn't the time. Tell me how we can get out of here!"

Another brief pause passed, "There isn't a way, we just have to wait till we find a chance. With Miss M and SB down as well as Aqualad, the best thing we can do is wait."

My fists tightened and my pulse sped up,

"Wait? Just sit here and wait? What's that gonna accomp-"

"Listen KF, i'm as eager to save her as you are but if you haven't noticed, we're locked up to. So stay focus and wait for something to happen."

I closed my eyes in defeat. The 13 year old had a point.

The time I spent sitting in that room was probably the worse moment of my life. It was torture to wonder what could be happening to Artemis at the moment, but not only that thought clouded my mind. The girl I saw in school was the girl we were here to rescue, and she was also the one to mind blast us as well as take me and Artemis to some kind memory flashback or whatever. The only good thing out of that was the fact that it forced me to admit I.. love Artemis. But of course, as soon as I finally accepted it, she's gone.

"This is a nightmare…"

I whispered.

"Not a nightmare, just your current reality."

I lifted my head to see the little girl standing in the doorway,

"You?! Where is she? We came to save you and this is the thanks we get?!"

"I am sorry. It was not my choice, but do not worry she is safe."

The girl was talking in my head just as M'gann would,

"How do I get out of here?"

"you cannot leave now. You will be reunited with the one you love, but for now you must be patient."

"Im tired of people telling me to be patient! It's your fault that we're in this mess and now you wont even tell me where she is or even help me!"

"Please Wally, you must trust me, I am on your side. Just do as I say and be patient."

"But where's-"

I heard a door open and suddenly the girl was gone. Vanished just like before.

Footsteps were walking towards my room until a face appeared. It was the face of Ivy.

"Who were you talking to?" she asked as she looked at me suspiciously.

I didnt answer.

That irritated her without a doubt. She walked up to me and kneeled before me putting her hand on my chin,

"If you're smart, you'll live. Now answer. The question, before I lose my patience."

I glared at her and cracked a small smile, "im sure we both know you've already lost your patience. Dont worry, I get that a lot from evil chicks like you"

"ugh" she let my face go and rubbed her head, just as a voice was heard from the hall.

"Ivy, the council is ready."

Ivy had a smile grow on her face as she looked up at me,

"Excellent."

Robin, M'gann, Superboy, and Aqualad were all dragged out of the room one by one till it was my turn.

I was dragged out by two bulked men that i couldn't even see because they had sacked me to try and prevent escaping. Once we had reached the destination, they threw me 'ever so gently' on the concrete floor and removed the sack from my head.

Superboy and Miss Martian were wide awake as was Robin as we all stayed on our aching knees facing several villains who we couldnt even see because it was so dark.

"Link established." clicked M'ganns all too recognizable voice.

"Ok now what are we waiting for? We can easily take these creeps out and find Artemis and just leave, so what do you say, we have a plan?" I blurted out desperate for action to be taken.

"Negative, we're uncertain of how many 'creeps' surround us, we might be out numbered"

"Besides we dont even know where Artemis is, might as well wait for them to spell things out for us before we go overboard"

Said Kaldur and Robin.

Once again they both gave good points.

Before anything else was said, one man who was unrecognizable in the darkness of the room spoke.

"Children sent by the League? That is beneath us, how could they believe these… kids could have any chance at defeating us?"

"It is most likely because the league does not know who we are."

"Agreed. Anyways, what should we do with them? "

"Set an example of course, dispose of them."

"Maybe we can make use of them."

"Please, by what means? The girl with a family of criminals wouldn't even join us let alone this band of do-gooders"

"I suppose you're right"

Did I just hear what I thought I heard…

"Girl with a family of criminals? You mean… Artemis?"

I heard Robin sigh as I asked the question.

"Yes young hero, your beloved friend Artemis who was just to good to go bad. She'll pay her consequences for her idiotic decisions, as will you"

"Consequences? What have… Where is she!?"


	6. Chapter 6, Heartache

"Oh you have got to be kidding me…" I groaned when another cool burst of pain struck the inside of my skull. This was the second time in one day that i've been brain blasted by that weird little girl, and the worse part is I don't even know where I'm at. Nor where my team is at... Nor where Wally is at.

My eyes took a while to adjust to the lighting because it was so bright,

'Bright? Where could i possibly be at this point?'

I rubbed my eyes and reached forward to try and block whatever was illuminating over me, but my hand hit something cold and clear in front of me. It scared me at first, and i started to knock on it,

'glass.'

I stated, 'but why is there a glass wall in front of me?'

I covered my eyes which helped my surroundings clear and my breathing started to get heavier when i realized what i was in. I couldnt move my feet and there were wires injected to my neck.

My pulse went up in speed when the reality of my situation hit me like a brick to the head.

'im in a pod?!''

I tried to take deep breaths but nothing could keep my terror away, small spaces drove me crazy, and this pod was my greatest definition of a total nightmare.

I immediately ripped the wire from my neck and yelped in pain. I tried to punch my way out through the glass but it wouldnt budge, when I tried to kick, my feet wouldnt move.

In fact,

Everything from the waist down would not move at all.

"HELP!"

Was the only thing that escaped my mouth,

"SOMEBODY HELP ME PLEASE!"

I screamed and tossed myself from side to side, i bashed my hands against the glass and begged for someone, anyone to set me free, words poured from my mouth in a fog of desperation when i suddenly realized what exactly I was saying,

"WALLY!"

I screamed and covered my mouth as soon as i realized what i was saying. I was yelling out for Wally.

I took gasps of air for a minute more and got an extreme urge to start laughing.

'am I going insane!?"

I thought as a giggle cracked through my lips. Soon a giggle turned in to an uncontrollable smile, a smile in to a chuckle, a chuckle in to laughter and soon I was uncontrollably laughing my lungs out.

I banged against the glass and laughed so hard that I ran out of air and was fighting to keep myself from passing out.

"WUH-WALLY! HAHAHAAHAA….HA…"

The air got sucked out of my chest, it hurt. And soon Everything. Went. Dark.

"Where is she!?" i demamded and the people in front of me just stood there as if they were quietly mocking me. I had been patient the whole day, and at that point my patience had run out.

I jumped up and charged at the shadow figures in front of me. I grabbed the first one I could get my hands on and took hold of his collar and shook him with as much strength as i could manage to force out.

"Where is she?!"

My heart was racing and suddenly I was pulled back by my hair on to the floor. I heard a deep voice mumble something about stupid kids as I was dragged back next to my teammates.

"Well since the boy is so eager to be reunited with his 'friend'..."

Said a voice from the crowd of darkness, "Why not just bring him to her…?"

I could have sworn I heard a small laugh escape from the same voice that had spoken to me before I got dragged out of the room.

I grunted and kicked, yelled insults and threats, basically anything to make them budge, but in the end, wherever they were taking me, we had already made it.

I looked left and right for Artemis, preparing to see her in the worse condition. Instead something else caught my eye,

Pods.

All to familiar Cadmus pods linned in a neat row.

All of them empty except one that was clearly occupied.

The glass was foggy and hand prints covered the it from midway to top.

As we got closer, I realized who was inside. Artemis.

I examined her condition, she wasnt moving and she obviously stryggled while she was in there. She wasnt… breathing.

"Artemis? Artemis!"

I fought against my captors but in return they bashed my head in the pod next to her's. I didnt feel pain on where my head had been slammed, instead i felt an aching feeling in my chest.

In the split second I was able to see her, able to see her face that seemed to be crying out for someone, able to see Artemis lying cold in a pod knocked out…

"im sorry" I whispered as I was shoved in to my own cell.

My eyes watered and i gave up struggiling because there was just no point in fighting them any more.

I failed Artemis

Was all I could think of before being knocked out in the pod.

Im sorry because I failed you. I didnt get to you in time... I didnt come for you when you needed me… and I didnt tell you how I felt… I never had the guts to tell you… that I love you..


	7. Chapter 7, Too Sweet Dream

"What are you talking about?" the girl giggled and felt her face heat up as the boy smiled in her direction.

"I told you, I love you. For the first time in my life I have found someone with whom I can share everything, you my dear. I love you and everything that you are. Your beauty, your intelligence… your smile.."

He went on realizing he had her full attention,

"I could ask for nothing more than what you are, and for who you had made me to be. A better person, in better spirit. And though it has taken much courage to tell you this, so that you may hear what I have felt for you for so long, I knew that it was worth the risk, because if it not now then when? What I ask, is that you give me nothing more than your heart. What I ask, is for your love"

She felt her heart flutter after every word, and as she looked into his eyes, she knew he meant every word. How could she refuse? After all, she felt exactly the same way.

"I accept!" she cried with joy.

"I shall give you my heart, and all the love that I posses! I am yours eternall-"

A bang as loud as thunder rumbled the room. The door flung open, the windows shattered into a million pieces. The boy and girl were frozen in position as the walls began to rot and the ceiling began to crumble over them.

Soon only the girl was left. Her form and expression had changed to pure sadness, and the boy was nowhere to be found.

The setting was gloomy and dark, and the girl with black, raven hair sat alone on her knees with her face towards the ground.

Tears filled her eyes and flooded over her cheeks as she held on to something tightly, as if her life depended on it, in her hands.

It was a ring.

A small golden ring with a lone diamond perfectly in place.

She rocked back and forth sniffling as sounds could be heard around her.

'the child has abilities we have never seen'

'she must be tested!'

'she must be isolated!'

'she is dangerous!'

'She's a freak!'

Voices surrounded her, but she ignored them and continued to sob.

'Don't touch her! Leave her alone! She is just a girl, an innocent girl!'

'Hush yourself young man, go home or else'

'or else what!? I'm not leaving without her!'

'then I guess you won't be leaving at all'

Gun shots. Then absolute silence.

The girl stopped crying and slowly rose from her knees. The tears had disappeared, and the only expression that was clearly portrayed was

Regret and

Innocence.

A gasp of air brought Wally and Artemis back to life. The two were lying down beside the other, coughing and taking deep breaths as their hearts pounded and hands trembled.

They gasped until they caught a good blast of air and were calmed by the feeling of one hand holding on to the other's tightly.

They had not yet realized it was their hands holding each other or even who sat beside them, but as they turned to face each other, they couldn't hold back a smile.

"Artemis!"

"Wally!"

They said at the same time.

They slowly lowered their heads to see their hands were holding the other, but neither broke away, they only smiled and soon met eyes.

Wally couldn't hold himself back as he reached to pull Artemis' head towards his and he kissed her as strongly as he could.

He kissed her and held her as close as he could, he was afraid of her being taken from him all over again, afraid he would lose her the minute he let go and opened his eyes.

Artemis was surprised at first, but she instantly melted into his kiss. She didn't hesitate to kiss him, mainly because she could no longer deny her feelings.

She loved him,

And he loved her.

As soon as their lips parted, they kept the other close.

"where are we?" Artemis asked as they both looked around.

"I don't know.." Wally turned to face the archer and saw her silvery eyes glisten as beautifully as they always have.

"Artemis… I.. thought you… I thought you were dead.." he sighed as he spoke, it looked as though it hurt for him to say it out loud.

He spoke softer, and rested his hand on her cheek

"I thought I lost you… i'm not going to let you go another second without letting you know, Artemis I love you. I don't know if you feel the same way, of course I can only hope that you do… but I needed to tell you before anything else happened, that I love you Artemis… hopelessly, blindly, and vulnerably in love with you…"

His heart felt sore as he spilled the words on the golden haired girl who sat only inches away from him, he was trying to see what she was feeling other than an obvious strike of shock that hit her by his words.

She was speechless. Absolutely speechless.

The sixteen year old boy she has known for so long had never said anything like that, had never talked in such a soft and serious tone.

Wally West had never felt more eager in his life (which says a lot for him). He needed to know if she felt the same way. And he could only hope that it was yes, because if it was no, he knew he'd never recover.

Artemis looked right into the speedsters green glowing, emerald like eyes with a response she was not sure would sound right. But she said it as boldly as she could,

"Wally… I…" she sighed, she couldnt do it, even with all her strength.

Wally looked down, she didn't realize it, but her response was killing him.

"I get it…" Wally said before Artemis had time to say anything else "I can understand if you don't feel the same way"

Artemis looked up and finally realized how hurt she had made him, but he was misunderstanding her completely

"No Wally, I do! I just… I have a hard time… saying those things…"

She had hoped that took his pain away and smiled when she realized it did. He was smiling too.

He suddenly gave her a warm embrace and kissed her head.

The hug was just as warm as they both remembered. Just as comforting and welcoming as it had been so long ago, and despite not knowing where either of them were, nor how they were together, at that moment it didn't matter.

What did matter, was the simple fact that the archer and the speedster were together.

"wake up"

The voice of the girl returned.

"Both of you, it is time to wake up. Now."

Artemis and Wally ignored it and only hugged tighter.

"There will be time later, but for now you

Must

Wake

Up."

"Silence. Eyes open. Hands open. Hearts closed awaiting to be opened once more with the key that was made only to fill in that gap and no other. The heart will not open to anyone else, but the beholder of that key."

I am awake, but I wish I was still sleeping. Dreaming, with him. But he is somewhere else and so am I. Why can't we dream with our eyes open? Crystal connected us through dreams, why can't she connect us now, together, awake?

It frustrates me, but I know, patience.


	8. Chapter 8, Nightmare

Artemis, by this time had adjusted to waking up at the best parts of her 'dreams'. It annoyed her more than she could express, but she put the thought in the back of her mind and was now focused on her new location.

Not a room, not even a ceiling, just an open field. Grass waving in the cool violent breeze. It was dark, and the only source of light was the bright illuminated crescent moon.

"Where the…"

It seemed almost peaceful,

'but a little too peaceful if you catch my drift…'

Artemis had her bow, which made no sense because what couldn't be explained was why the bad guys let her go, and why she had her bow back, not to mention the fully stocked quiver of arrows.

It made no sense, but the biggest thought in her mind was, if they let her go, what did they do with Wally? And the rest of the team of course…

Suddenly the floor rumbled underneath her, and Artemis had her automatic defense mode kick in. She aimed an arrow and turned all sides and angles frantically.

Spear like rods shot out of the ground and penetrated the sky. Artemis soon realized they were surrounding her like a cage constructed to seal her inside.

She started running towards an opening the quickest she could ever run in her life only to get shot back by a platform that launched out from the ground as she tried to run out before it was too late.

Her recovery from the blast was just enough time for the spears to shut her hope of escaping.

It was dark, until a ray of light shot out from the top of the cone shaped structure.

Artemis was on her feet once again, preparing to take on whatever came next, though she wasn't quiete prepared for what she was about to see,

Or who she was about to face….

...

Wally woke and immediately groaned in frustration,

"Seriously?!" he yelled out at the sight of everything but the one person he wanted to see, the archer, Artemis.

"This is soo getting old fast. Real fast…"

The speedster rubbed his head and looked around thinking

'where could I be this time'

with frustration, no doubt.

A field. A vast, green, breezy open field with not another soul in sight.

He started walking outward, not having an exact direction to head in.

As peaceful as the setting was, Wally had no plans on staying, and soon he was running at his top speed.

Everything seemed fine until…

"What in the…"

The floor shook violently underneath him. Wally wobbled until he could no longer keep his balance.

As he fell down, spears shot up around him. He tried to get on his feet, but the Earth was shaking to much to be able to make any steady movement.

Kid Flash struggled as the beams surrounded him completely. It was like a gigantic circus tent with no lights nor openings.

By the time the shaking stopped, it was already too late. Before Wally rammed himself into a wall in an effort to escape, a large ray of light shot out through the center of the ceiling. It stopped the speedster dead in his traps, and the only thing he could say as the light shot the ground was,

"What's next…"

...

Artemis could see a vague figure standing underneath the only source of light.

She approached it with caution, keeping her arrow aimed steady towards the might-be target.

She got close enough to see it was a boy. He was turned around, so no face could be seen.

Something familiar about the clothing. Something about the red pants with lightning bolts surounding the rim of the waist, something about the yellow top that stretched to the figures head with red hair over flowing from the top.

"Kid?" Artemis whispered, lowering her bow slightly.

She lowered her voice in to a whisper as she reached her arm out to touch the shoulder of the figure standing inches in front of her,

"Wally...?"

The tips of her fingers managed to reach the boy who continued to stand motionless, almost unaware of her presence.

As she moved her hand in a little closer, the boy had an immediate reaction and grabbed her hand tightly causing the archer to jolt back.

The boy turned around without releasing her hand. Artemis looked to see his face, but it was dark.

His green glowing eyes were not visible for some reason, and he had a strange expression painted on his face.

It wasnt his usual smirk or smile, it was a more cold and almost creepy tilt of his lips. She didnt get the feeling she usually got from see the ginger haired boy smile, instead shs got a sick feeling that made her stomach twist in knots under the skin.

"Artemis."

He said with a chilling voice that made her tremble.

Artemis tore her hand away from his grip, and the boy stepped closer as a response.

"What's the matter? It's me, Wally."

The archer stepped away from him as he tried to draw nearer. She couldnt respond, she could barely breath.

"Artemis!" he yelled and as a result she lifted her bow and aimed an arrow at his chest.

She knew it wasnt him, it couldnt be him.

"Your arrows are useless against me" his smile grew bigger.

Artemis walked back as the imposter walked forward.

She refused to lower her arrow, and it aimed at his chest.

"Dont you move" she threatened.

"One more step and you're done!"

The boy paused and crossed his arms.

"Im, done? Who are you kidding? That act couldnt even fool yourself"

he opened his arms wide and smiled with his chilling lips,

"Do it, Artemis. I dare you." he taunted.

Artemis was at war with herself on what she would do. Her hands were trembling, the boy, although not Wally, looked just like him.

She stared right in to his eyes that werent the marvelous shade of green she knew, instead of emeralds they were rubies.

Red, red rubies.

She lowered her arrow.

"You're just as weak as they said you are" he laughed as Artemis surrendered.

"The team doubts you, your father is ashamed of you, and me? You really think I like you? Heh, I dont even trust you. Who could ever love a criminal? Especially when im a hero, sorry Arty, but it's only a matter of time before everyone see's what you really are. Another, low. Life. Croo-"

"Crock!" Artemis interrupted.

"My name is Artemis Crock! And my dad can be ashamed of me all he wants, because im ashamed of him! Im not my family, and you're not Wally! I am Artemis Crock and I am a hero! I dont know who you are, but you better get out of my face!"

The archer took her bow and swung it at the figure in front of her, as the bow sliced through him, he frowned for the first time since she saw him, and he disappeared in a mist of black thick fog that quickly evaporated.

Artemis sighed and pushed aside a strand of hair that had fallen over her mask.

"Now. **What's next."**

...

"Artemis?" Wally stared at the girl standing in front of him.

He went to touch her shoulder and she stepped away from him as a response.

She turned to face him and he yelped at the view of her.

She had no mask, instead there was painted paw prints on her cheeks.

Wally's eyes widened as he realized the uniform was no longer green, instead it was brown and matched the costume of a former criminal, an excon, known as

"Huntress." she said.

Wally stepped back, stunned.

"It's Huntress, not Artemis. What are you so surprised about? You knew this from the start. Im not one of you, never was." she crossed her arms and smiled at Kid Flash.

"No, this isnt real… this cant be.." he clenched his fists tightly

"You arent Artemis! She would never-"

"Never become this? I am, Wally. This is me, and this is my family. It's in my blood, and no matter what you do, you cant change me. You cant change the facts, and you cant help me. Especially when I dont want to be saved."

He felt his heart drop in his chest as she continued to speak,

"Dont blame yourself, baywatch. I make my own choices. What's with you, huh? Wait, wait, did you have feelings for me? Hahaha, you're just as clueless and hopeless as everyone says you are. Fall in love with you, a criminal and a hero. You're pathetic for thinking that way"

Wally tried to hold himself together,

"You think I believe this act!? I maybe hopeless or clueless but im not stupid! You arent Artemis because she is a hero! No matter what you say, im not gonna believe you!"

The girl glared at the speedster,

"You can tell that to yourself all you want. You can make yourself believe that this wont happen, that this isn't me, sooner or later you'll have to wake up from that little fantasy of yours, and when you do, i'll be right there to say I told you so, maybe not me... but the real Artemis surely will. When you see her dressed like this, with these markings and this crossbow, I hope you'll be reminded of me"

She smiled, she knew she had gotten to him.

He was speechless, he was angry. He didnt want to listen, to fall for this obvious trap, but he couldnt help it. Wally had been at war with this situation ever since the day he realized he had fallen in love with Artemis, and with a lump in his throat and his tongue deprived of all moisture, the speedster charged at the terrible image of Artemis,

"GET. OUT. OF MY FACE!"

The illusion vanished in to a thick haze as the enraged Wally tried to make physical contact.

She's gone, but Wally could still hear her voice

' **Youre pathetic for thinking that way'**


	9. Chapter 9, Promises and Desires

_**"Can you move that with your mind?"**_

 _ **"Yes."**_

 _ **A tree tore from the ground and lifted into the air without being touched.**_

 _ **"Good, now put it down gently."**_

 _ **She did as she was told.**_

 _ **"Now can you try to imagine this loud bustling park into a peaceful setting for us?"**_

 _ **The ground shook and suddenly the people who were walking with their pets, and the children who were laughing and skipping along the sidewalks, disappeared.**_

 _ **The trees were non existent as well as the once blazing sun. Now there was only a ghostly nightshade with a moon that showered light on the grass that waved in the cool breeze.**_

 _ **"Excellent. Now I need you to build us a large dome, in which we can begin phase two of your training."**_

 _ **The young girl nodded and soon a large structure lifted itself from the Earth and surrounded her and the others.**_

 _ **"We are going to need some light" the lady spoke and within seconds a large ray shot out from the center of the half sphere.**_

 _ **"Well done, now we may begin phase two."**_

 _ **The girl looked terrified after the sentence, but remained silent. The lady who spoke took a small remote out of her pocket and pressed the only red button on it. A loud ring sounded but it only seemed to affect the young girl. She shoved her fingers into her ears and screamed.**_

 _ **Soon the other people in lab coats faded away into a mist and only the girl was left. The ringing had stopped and the girl was now 'alone' in the dome.**_

 _ **The ray of light shined down on a figure in the middle of the room. He was faced away from the girl, and was nearly unaware of her.**_

 _ **"No! Please! Anything but this, please! Don't do this to me!"**_

 _ **The boy turned slowly to face her.**_

 _ **"Please…" she cried and tried to cover her ears as she fell to her knees.**_

 _ **"Aw, are you afraid little girl? Are you afraid of the truth?" he grinned at her reaction.**_

 _ **She couldn't talk because of a lump that formed in her throat. Her heart was sore and she felt as though she was being ripped apart from the inside.**_

 _ **"Figures. You couldn't even save me. How could you even hope to save yourself? You're just a small, hopeless little girl afraid to look in the mirror. Afraid to know what you are and who you failed. You failed me Crystal. Im dead because of you! And the irony of it all is… my life was wasted on such an idiotic girl, you weren't worth my life! You aren't worth anything! Yet you still have the guts to walk around like nothing ever happened!? With that idiotic look on your face! Pathetic. Pathetic little girl." he shook his head in disgust and slowly melted into the air in a thick black fog, leaving the young girl with raven black hair alone sobbing at his words.**_

 _ **"It not true…" she whispered between tears, "he loved me…" she repeated. But his words never stopped playing over and over in her mind**_

 _ **"Pathetic."**_

…..

"The boy failed but the girl surprisingly passed."

"Seems we missed judged character on both of them"

"Yes, but what of the others?"

"The martian was the easiest, the superboy was hesitant but failed eventually. Robin passed. Fishboy couldn't last another minute, he was done just by the sight of the girl."

"Not surprised Boy Wonder passed. He was trained by the Batman… so no figure, right?"

"What do we do with those who failed?"

"The Light said we could do whatever we pleased with them."

"I say we keep Artemis and Robin, and throw out the rest."

"I thought we were to clone them and then eliminate them"

"Our direct orders were to clone the strong minded ones and free the other ones. If we cloned those who failed, they would easily let their emotions falter the objective. Artemis and Robin are the most logical approach."

"But why can't we just eliminate all of them and clone the important ones?"

"Because if we send only two of the team members back they would suspect something, you idiot!"

"Alright, alright. So it's settled, clone Artemis and Robin, free them all and this can all be over with."

"Yeah but what about the two originals?"

"They're the ones we will dispose of."

….

Artemis trudged back and forth in the huge dome. She was thinking of any possible way out. She tried her exploding arrows but they were no use.

In the end, waiting was her only option. Waiting for something to happen, with an arrow in one hand and her bow in the other.

She was ready for whatever came next.

"Artemis! You passed!"

The archer immediately turned towards the sound of the voice.

"Who's there?" she tried looking through the darkness but could see nothing.

"Now they're not going to let you leave… you should have failed it, Artemis!"

The voice was starting to sound familiar,

"Crystal?"

"There's no time for this, listen Artemis. Your main telepathic communicator is down, and I can only attach you to your lover! So you must tell him that Cadmus plans to clone you."

Artemis was intent to what was being told,

"But why can't you connect me telepathically to the rest of the team!?"

"Because- I have to go. Goodnight brave girl"

"Wait answer the… the.. ques…" Artemis fell to the ground and was fast asleep.

…

Wally had given up.

At first, he was so sure he had lost the girl he loved, but because of the illusion, he felt he knew he would lose the real Artemis.

And it was killing him.

The speedster had met various girls in his life, heroines and non heroines, but none like the golden haired archer. She wasn't waiting looking for a knight in shining armor, nor was she a damsel in distress; she was a strong independent and brutally headstrong girl that didn't allow anyone to boss her around.

He felt he he was falling for Miss Martian, but he had no idea that the whole time he was aiming for her in his head, his heart was aiming for Artemis.

He threw his on the ground and closed his eyes laying his head back against the wall.

He did feel pathetic for loving the wrong girl, but for some odd reason, he didn't regret falling for her.

No one can come close to how amazing Artemis is in his eyes. But there's only that one flaw, that one thing that he could not oversee, she's mysterious in a bad way. And because the speedster expects the next time he's going to see her, she would be dressed in a Huntress outfit, he's not going to get to busy on thinking of how otherwise perfect she is.

"Poor Wally, I am sorry for that. But you must find it in yourself to truly believe in what you know and not what you think."

"Crystal…?" he felt slightly dizzy and started to daze off,

"Where… where's…"

"Dont fight it, just let the world go dark for a little while…"

…

 _ **"Remember that time you thought you lost her? You saw her perish before your eyes, and you couldn't do anything to change it. It was already too late, and after waking up from that nightmare, you swore you would never let anything happen to her again. You swore she would be safe for as long as you lived, but now there's a new threat to her life, will you lose her? Or will you stick to your vow, and protect her. Don't forget Wally. Don't forget what you promised."**_

He sighed and lowered his head after hearing the speech. He was in the same place he was when he saw Artemis, in his dreams. At least that's what he referred to the place as.

"You're right… painfully right." he lifted his head.

"But that doesn't mean i have to love her."

The voice of Crystal was clearly heard when she sighed.

"I guess you're right."

…

"Ok Artemis. Pull yourself together" she gasped and looked around. Everything was white again, and it made her feel closed in, but it was much better than being in a pod.

"Ok Artemis, I will wake you up when they come to get you, so be quick!"

She nodded and prepared to see Wally. She wondered if he had seen an apparition of her, and what it might have told him.

Soon, there he was. Standing with his arms crossed, he didn't look to happy to see her.

At least.. not as happy as Artemis.

"Wally?" she had a mixed expression of happiness and confusion on her face.

"what's… wrong?"

He couldn't bring himself to make direct eye contact with her. He was determined to hide how he felt, and if he looked at her, he knew he would break.

"Nothing. Why are we here?"

Artemis was having a hard time reading him, he's mad but, why?

"Right. Crystal told me to tell you…" realization hit her like a brick wall.

"T-that i'm going to be cloned!" the first time she heard the young girl's voice say it, she didn't have enough time to process it.

But now that she did, she was terrified.

Wally couldn't hold back the look he gave her,

"What?"

Concern was written all over his. That, he simply could not hide.

"S-she said they'd clone me!"

He grabbed her shoulders tightly and looked more serious than words could describe.

"Who? Who's going to do this?"

He was afraid for her, obviously. He knew what cloning meant. Another pod, and undoubtedly death.

"Cadmus!" She said

"Cadmus p-plans to clone me!"

He hoped that wasn't her answer.

"Wally…" she teared up and looked up at him,

"I d-don't want to go back in a pod!"

He fought against his actions, but the sight of her in such a broken way was to much. He had only seen her cry once, and it definitely wasn't something he missed seeing.

He slid his arms from her shoulders to her hips then her back and hugged her as tightly as he could. He closed his eyes and spoke in the most reassuring voice he could.

"You're not going back in a pod, I promise. I'm going to make sure nothing happens to you... again, don't worry Artemis. I won't leave you"

She breathed and rested her head on his chest. His words were soothing. It was easy to believe him, it was always easy to know when Wally meant what he said.

"It is time" the young girl's voice thundered over them.

"You both must awaken now."

Artemis trembled and Wally could feel it.

He brought his hands up to her face and smiled,

"Artemis, dont worry. I'll be there in a flash"

He pressed his lips against her head and was happy to see she had stopped trembling, and crying. In fact she couldnt hold in a small laugh after what he said.

"You did not just say that…" she whispered and he chuckled as a response. But their happy moment quickly evaporated when

"It's time!"

He looked her in the eyes. He could still see she was afraid, no matter how well she hid it. "I'll see you soon, ok?" he put her hands in his.

She smiled and nodded, but before he knew it, she was gone.

He sighed and kept his hands in the same position when her hands were in them.

"Dont worry, beautiful. I wont let anything happen to you."


	10. Chapter 10, If Not One Then the Other

5 men stormed into the dome where Artemis was more than ready.

She took three explosive arrows and shot them at her intruders. She knew what was going to happen, but she also knew she wasn't going out without a fight.

The arrows threw two of the men off their feet. The remainder charged at the archer who was happy to give them their fair share.

She shot an arrow that wrapped a net over one male while the final two kept running.

She swung her bow at the one who came closest to her, and the second one made his move and jumped forward to keep her down.

He pinned her while the others were recovering from their injuries.

Artemis grunted and bit the man's ear as hard as she could until she tasted blood and the man yelled at the top of his lungs.

"You little-!"

She head-butted him before he finished his sentence, but the scene was long enough for the others.

They swiped the bow from her hands and ripped the quiver off her shoulders.

"You'll get what's comin.." murmured one of the victims she blew off their feet.

"Sure, just like you will only ten times harder" she shot back and he responded with a blow to her head.

They picked her up and walked her out of the dome. Artemis' vision was blurred, but she could see other domes just like her's surrounding them.

"You're so going to regret this!" she yelled out hoping Wally was in one of them, and would hear her shouting.

Artemis had her crossbow hidden from view, and decided it would be her final defense.

The men dragged her to a separate dome where there were several high tech pieces of machinery not even she recognized.

The scientists had been waiting for her arrival.

She was surprised to see that Robin was also dragged in their with her. She did not yet understand why only she and him were their but thought it would be best to think about that later, right now, she had a more important things to focus on.

Robin looked at her and they exchanged glances. She knew what he was thinking, because it was what she was thinking.

"How are we gonna get out of here"

Men with guns stood behind them. They aimed their weapons at both hero's heads.

"Welcome, Artemis and Robin" spoke a voice from behind them. It wasnt familiar, and they weren't going to take a chance at looking.

As the man spoke, others hauled out 2 large oval like capsules that the archer and boy wonder recognized.

"Im sure you both know what these are, which means you also know what comes next" the voice said with an almost too cheerful voice.

Artemis held her breath as she made eye contact with Robin.

'What's our next move!?'

…

"I heard her!" Wally yelled and his voice echoed throughout the dome.

"Which means they already have her! Ugh!" he smacked his hand to his face and groaned trying to think of how he could save her.

'Think Wally, think!'

He trudged back and forth frantically, he knew he had to be quick, and not only quick, but smart!

He scanned the dome looking for anything that would help him, and suddenly there it was, his only chance, a camera.

Several cameras.

'Of course! They're keeping surveillance on us… I think I know what to do!'

Wally stopped and got into a running position. The shape of the structure was perfect for his plan, but he did need to have the right speed.

'Here goes nothing…' he thought before running as fast as he could around the dome in a circle.

When he felt he was going the right pace, he attempted to get his feet planted and running on the sides of the wall. He ran as fast as he could, and soon started getting higher and higher above the dome.

The wind made by Wally created a spiral of air that whipped around in the middle, but that wasn't his goal. Wally got enough leverage to reach the cameras, and at his speed he was able to trample them easily.

When they shattered under his feet, he stumbled but kept his balance, he could not afford to waste time by falling

'Come on Wally, for Artemis'

He ran faster and one by one took out every camera in the dome.

He double checked that they were all disable then he slowed down and came to a halt on the ground where he started.

"They don't call me Kid Flash for nothing!" he exhaled proudly, gasping and holding his knees.

He knew only part of the task was done, but he needed energy to do the rest.

The speedster opened the small compartment on the wrist of his suite only to find his snack, (in other words his only source of energy) had already been eaten.

"Great." he said while leaning against the wall of the dome.

"Guess i'll have to manage on what's left…"

…

Both had been stripped of their weapons of defense. Or so the scientists thought.

Artemis knew Robin always carried back up, and he knew she did too.

It was only a matter of time before they took action.

The procedure had been paused because of a disturbance in one of the domes, as far as boy wonder and Artemis knew.

"The camera's had been taken out in Dome F." one of the men stated before anything else happened.

The two heroes heard the scientist exhale.

"Alright, you two stay there and make sure these specimens don't go anywhere! Me and the rest will go check on the disturbance."

The two men who had weapons at both the archer and 'sidekick' responded with a "Yes sir" before the others left.

This had to be their moment.

Artemis tilted her head slightly to look at Robin, and he nodded.

In seconds, Artemis grabbed the gun as the man began to fire and lifted her fist up to his chin.

Robin backflipped over his guy, using the gun for support.

He was able to attach a smoke pellet to the man's uniform and instantly knocked him out while he was blind.

Artemis finished off her enemy with one final blow to the head with her foot.

The two charged out of the dome but beforehand, Robin left a message of

'Dont mess with us again'

By leaving several dozen disc bombs all around the facility.

They managed to escape before everything inside was destroyed and blown to pieces.

"You blew up the building!?" Artemis yelled and Robin grinned,

"Hey I had too, it's what i'm known for"

Artemis sighed and looked around her to see the domes.

"One of them have all the men inside it, so-" she said but as she turned around, she realized the boy wonder had already vanished.

"You take left, i'll take right!" she heard him shout from a distance.

She groaned and took out her crossbow.

"At least he said something this time" she muttered before running off to the first structure on the right.

…

"Where is the little brat!" the uniformed man hollered as they searched the dome.

"Right behind you!" Wally laughed as he raced out behind them after smacking one of the men on the head.

The man growled, "It was planned!" he yelled out as the others chased after him. They left his dome open (mistakenly) allowing him to escape.

He ran outside only to find a Martian, Atlantean, Boy Wonder, AND Speedster waiting for him, as well as all his men knocked out on the ground.

"How's that for a 'little brat'" Wally smirked.

"You children don't know who you're messing with! Cadmus will find a way to-" Superboy appeared from behind with Artemis and he immediately punched the back of the man's head.

"He was done." said the boy before returning with the rest.

Artemis didn't have to walk to them because Wally had ran over to her.

"Artemis!" he yelled and hugged the blonde, lifting her up off the ground.

"You're safe!" he grunted before letting her go and wobbling backwards.

"Wally, are you…?" she walked forward as Wally stumbled.

"Artem...is.." his green eyes flashed at her before he fell forwards on his face.

"Wally!" Artemis kneeled beside him and lifted his head from the dirt.

He was sweating, clearly unconscious and unable to speak, though he was babbling.

The rest rushed over to them.

Robin knew what was happening only because he had seen it before.

"He's lost to many calories, blood pressure must be low. We need to get back to…" they had no idea where they were or where the bioship was, for that matter.

"Does anyone have any kind of food on them?" they all exchanged glances,

"Figured. Wally was the only one who carried snacks around…"

Artemis was brushing his red hair from his face and had removed his mask hoping it would take heat off him.

"So what can we do?" she asked.

Before anyone else spoke, the ground shook violently underneath them. The huge domes tumbled but vanished before crashing to the ground.

"Everyone down!" Aqualad yelled and Artemis cuddled Wally's head in her lap and under her chest.

Suddenly the area was no longer night, and instead day. And the empty field transformed into a busy park with laughing children and jogging adults.

"I have the feeling we aren't in kansas anymore" Superboy murmured and everyone turned to look at him,

except for Robin

who stood wide eyed and dumbfounded at the sudden change of setting,

"No kidding…"


	11. Chapter 11, More than meets the eye

**-Authors note- Forgive the delay in this chapter. I assure the remainder of the story will be worth the wait! Enjoy!~**

The boy wonder attempted to get his wrist gadgets to work, but due to the series of events, all were fried. No one knew where they were. The team grew weary of Wally's condition, finally, Conner asked a jogger where on earth were they.

Kansas.

A small town in Kansas.

"I would ask how we got here, but after everything, that's the least of our problems." Artemis sighed resting her head on her hand. A headache was forming.

"We didn't even complete the mission!" Robin groaned and everyone darted eyes at him.

"Wally is unconscious. You and Artemis were nearly cloned and killed. We were tormented by visions, and you are worried about the mission?" M'gann spoke for everyone.

"A mission is a mission. And we failed."

"Not entirely." a familiar voice intruded. Superman. Along with Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern.

Artemis and Robin picked the mumbling speedster up by the arms and dragged him with the others.

"Lack of energy." Artemis said.

"A little help?"

"I was able to regain control. I escaped my captors, thanks to the help of your team." the young girl finished her sentenced. She had all ears.

Wally was now better. The young team stood standing in the main room of Mount Justice. Red Tornado joined Batman and the Flash as the girl stood at the center of the super powered beings.

Wally was confused. She had told her story but things didn't add up. Everyone could tell. If she had the ability to escape Cadmus, why hadn't she done it sooner?

Before he could voice his confusion, Batman spoke.

"We can sort the details out later. For now, you should all rest."

And just like that,

the team departed.

This mission, and the way it ended didn't sit right with any of them.

"It doesn't make any sense…" Robin stated as he walked back and forth, rubbing his hand against his chin.

They all sat uncomfortably on the long, narrow couch.

The martian and kryptonian sat side by side, kaldur sat in a seat across from them.

The speedster and archer sat on opposite ends while boy wonder continued his train of thought at the center of the room.

Artemis kept glancing at Wally. He wouldn't look back. He sat, limp, staring at the ground. Something else wasn't sitting right with KidFlash.

"So what can we do? The team has Crystal…" Miss Martian spoke.

"Perhaps the team could allow us to speak to her." Kaldur responded.

Amidst the three who spoke, three others sat silent. Until one interrupted.

"What did you guys see?"

Conner said. He had the same expression Wally had been showing. All turned to Superboy.

He didn't have to elaborate, they knew what he was talking about.

No one wanted to answer. A heavy silence filled the air between them. It was obvious,

they were reliving the memory.

They shuddered, and for the first time since they got there, Wally looked at Artemis.

Her suspicions were confirmed,

He saw her in the vision.

"I believe we should all do as Batman said and rest. We have had enough for one day." Finally someone lessened the intensity of the quiet room. Of course it was Kaldur who spoke.

Without another word, they all headed towards their rooms in separate corridors.

Artemis was piecing together in her mind the events that lead up to that moment. She knew Wally saw something he did not like from her,it explained why he acted up.

She entered her room and sat among the bed.

The whole team remained shaken.

But for a small moment, they were able to sleep. Clenching their pillows and squeezing their eyes closed. Trying to forget.

To remember it wasn't real.

They were unaware that

when they awoke

a nightmare would emerge into reality.


	12. Chapter 12, Disaster

" _ **She has grown to weak."**_

" _ **Too many emotions flowing through her and none that we can take advantage of."**_

" _ **Fine, we'll have to get rid of as much as we can. She's too unstable. We need her to be under our control, power like hers only comes once in generations."**_

" _ **Start on the Amygdala, temporal lobe. Play around with it. It should only damage her emotions."**_

 _Darknesss. Screaming._

" _ **Did it work?"**_

" _ **Crystal?"**_

 _Small lights flashing._

" _ **It worked! The light will be so pleased! Crystal is now under our control."**_

" _ **One small flaw in our plans… should the girl be exposed to any strong emotions… due to her telekinesis, she**_ _ **could**_ _**regain**_ _**some of her abilities… i'm sure it's nothing to worry about."**_

 _The lights swirled with the darkness and new noises emerged from nowhere._

" _ **You need to find Crystal!"**_

 _The voices were groggy, like being heard from a distance. But it was clear, the voice of Dick Grayson was the one who yelled the warning._

" _ **He's everywhere!"**_ _M'gann._

" _ **More than one!"**_ _Kaldur._

" _ **They're too strong!"**_ _Conner._

 _What looked like lightning shattered across the haze and suddenly a clear image could be seen._

 _Artemis Crock._

 _Smoke arose from her chest and her suit was torn and burnt. The small areas that could be seen on her skin were bruised or bleeding._

 _She wasn't moving._

 _She was surrounded by large debris and ash._

 _A ghostly shout broke away from the scene,_

" _ **Artemis…"**_

 _It said_

" _ **Artemis!"**_

 _Her lifeless body vanished and immediately,_

 _the innocent face arose like a mummy from its toom._

 _It was Crystal._

" _ **Wake Up!"**_

"Gah!"

Wally was sweating as he stumbled to the floor.

He wiped his head and made his way to the door, unaware of what drove him. He was still wearing his suit with the mask hanging back.

He froze before opening the door. He could hear something rumbling.

He drew his ear closer to listen.

It sounded like an earthquake.

Quickly, he opened and his eyes widened at the sight before him.

The whole mountain set ablaze.

He didn't have time to think, he was grabbed and tossed into Superboy's cycle.

"What's happening?!" he said while pulling his mask over his face.

The whole team was seated.

Artemis was without bow and arrows.

Obviously, she was also caught by surprise.

"The Justice League went haywire. Destroyed the cave. And right now, they're destroying each other." Artemis spoke, a slight tremble in her voice.

The ground was still shaking and the cycle headed in an unknown direction in the air.

"What?!" Wally said, off in the distance he could see Superman and Green Lantern going hand and hand against each other.

"I knew something wasn't right." Robin groaned.

"Yeah. We all did." Artemis snapped.

"Now is not the time to argue. It is clear whatever is happening revolves around Crystal." Aqualad spoke, silencing the others.

Wally looked at Artemis.

"Did you see her again?"she froze for a moment, then nodded as everyone else sat in confusion.

They assumed he was blaming her, which wasn't anything new.

"It really isn't appropriate to bla-"

"What did you see?" he asked. Now they knew, this was more than a usual feud.

She rubbed her head. "Images. Noises… I don't know it was a blur"

He moved up a seat and spoke in a voice only the archer could hear.

"Strong emotion? The Light? Ring any bells?" Artemis shook her head.

"No I…" her voice trailed off as the cycle started free falling.

"What's happening!" she yelled as Conner attempted to control the cycle manually.

"I'm not sure, she's not obeying any commands!" he grunted, pulling the wheel back with all his strength.

"M'gann can you stop it?"

She was off the vehicle and in the air before Robin finished his sentence.

"I can try!"

She began using her powers but it didn't seem to do much.

Aqualad shouted, he knew she wasn't strong enough.

"We're going down, everyone hit the deck."

They got down and covered their heads.

To Artemis' surprise, the speedster pushed himself over her.

'Is he… _protecting me!?'_

"Wally what are you-"

A crash.

Seconds passed and the blonde felt air lift her then drop her forcefully to the ruble.

Things weren't dark. They were blurry.

A ringing blazed in her ears as she tried recovering.

Slowly, the noises became clear and so did her vision.

"Artemis!"

She was grabbed by the shoulder and laid on her back.

Instinct took in and she punched forward.

She sat up to see her now bloody nosed victim.

"Oww.. what was that for!?" the boy moaned and by now Artemis was for the most part, better.

"Wally? What the heck were you doing, why were you…" she didn't know how to finish her sentence. She didn't want to be wrong but in her mind she thought, what else was he doing.

"...protecting me…?"

His face grew red and before he could respond, Robin's voice yelled out to them.

"Is everyone okay?!"

Slowly, the voices arose from the smoke.

"I'm sorry I couldn't sto-"

"It's okay, Miss Martian."

The rugged speedster stood up and reached out his hand for the archer.

She took it.

Everyone met near the crashed cycle.

"I dont understand what went wrong… she seemed fine.."

"Look we all made mistakes. Right now, we need to figure out why the Justice League are killing each other… and how to stop it." The boy wonder spoke and everyone listened.

"What were you two talking about?" Kaldur asked. All eyes drifted to the red haired boy and the golden haired girl.

They slowly looked at each other. His mask was ripped so that one fourth of his face could be seen. They both had cuts and scrapes.

She looked at his while he examined hers.

He knew what she was thinking,

Telling them would require them knowing.

Of how he felt,

And how she felt.

Their stomachs knotted as they broke eye contact and became focused on their teammates again.

"She came to me and Artemis."


	13. Chapter 13, Denial and its Consequences

"On several occasions.." Artemis spoke, giving a nod to Wally. It was an 'Ok'.

"We've been getting these dreams…"

"Ones where I could talk to, see, and feel him. As if he were really there…"

"And I to her."

The web was slowly unwinding as the two explained. They knew the question was coming. Sure enough, it came.

"Why didn't we get those?"

They grew silent. In Artemis' mind she was repeating the phrase

'Get it over with get it over with'

But Wally was still uncertain of many things. Despite how he felt, he did not have the confidence,

the certainty

to say what needed to be said.

"I-"

"We don't know." the speedster quickly cut her off.

Artemis felt relieved and unsettled by his response.

The team was unsatisfied by their answer, but for now it would have to do.

"Did she tell you anything that could help us?" M'gann said, killing some of the awkwardness.

The two masked heroes looked at eachother again.

Artemis looked back towards the team,

"Not really, she only warned us of spur of the moment things, like when the guards came for me and Robin. She said I should have failed the test. Obviously, the whole point of the visions they made us watch were to mess with our heads."

Wally put his head down as she continued.

"Other than that, she never really gave us any useful information for right now."

"Well if she helped you guys, then that means she's on our side right?" Robin stated, with his usual thinking face.

"This is making no sense. If she isn't behind the league war, who is?" Conner, frustrated, clenched his fists.

Wally raised his head, "In my latest dream, I heard something about the light and controlling Crystal… they… I think they eliminated her ability to feel. It had to do with her emotions being too much to handle. Whoever is behind this, they work for the Light. And whoever these people are, they're controlling Crystal's abilities." He was careful to leave out the small detail of 'strong emotions'.

Their next mission became clear.

Crystal was the answer to all their problems.

"We need to find her."

Kaldur thought for a moment. As leader, he needed to declare how she would be located.

"I don't think we have time for you two to get comfortable and sleep," Superboy inquired as Aqualad debated on what to do.

"Whatever we do, it needs to be done fast. Where would the League have taken her?"

Aqualad came to his decision.

"We're going to need to be split into groups. Superboy, Artemis, and I will investigate the Hall of Justice. Kid Flash, Robin, and Miss Martian will need to zeta to the Watch Tower."

Images of Wally's dream shot back at him, he interrupted.

"I think Artemis should come with me."

The team grew silent and Artemis shuffled behind M'gann.

"I do not think that is a good idea, I separated you two to avoid distractions." Artemis was steaming.

"Well it's just-"

"I'm not an object. Let's go." she began walking. Artemis was angry, Wally either liked her or he didn't. She made herself believe she couldn't care less. After putting up with his mood swings for so long, she had had enough. With the cycle down, there was no other way to get there quicker.

Robin tugged at Wally from the shoulder as a signal to get going. He stared at her for a moment then turned away.

"We'll get there faster if I carry you, M'gann you fly." Robin mounted the speedster's back and in seconds they were gone. He took charge of his group without warning, they simply followed.

Artemis looked back only for a moment, then turned away. They needed to find a zeta tube. There were plenty nearby.

Her group was almost there.


	14. Chapter 14, Fatal Doubt

A girl sat in the middle of the floor of the main room in the famous Hall of Justice. The usually crowded tourist attraction was quiet and only few stood or sat. Most likely because of the battle occurring outside. She looked as though she was meditating.

She was creating several scenarios at once. Around her stood guard several injustice leaguers.

They were protecting her. Well… keeping her captive and protecting her from anyone who would try to _help_ her.

She was doing as she was forced to do.

Each hero believed they were battling a sworn enemy, when in reality, they were only fighting each other.

She was made to do what she was doing by Cadmus. Who teamed with the Injustice League. And worked for the Light.

There was an endgame, one that would come with a grand price. No one knew exactly what it was but one thing is certain, when it comes to war,

there will always be blood.

Artemis, Aqualad, and Superboy arrived at the zeta tube a fair distance from the crash site where Conner had to abandon his beloved ride.

It was one disguised to look like a plain old brick wall.

Artemis was first. She had a bad feeling in her stomach, and she wasn't exactly sure what was causing it.

She thought maybe it was Wally, but usually she would get frustrated or secretly happy when he came to mind. This feeling was different.

Her group was zeta'd within seconds.

…

"Sooo what's up with you and Artemis?" even at their worst moments, Dick Grayson was still Dick Grayson.

"What are you talking about?" Wally was playing dumb which he knew wouldn't work. But he was in no mood to discuss 'him and Artemis'.

"C'mon Wally I thought we were friends. You obviously have a thing for her."

The speedster rolled his eyes and yawned.

He really couldn't focus. To many things were flooding his mind, he wanted Artemis to be the smallest, but she was as major as the JLA killing each other

to him.

He couldn't get the disturbing image and sounds out of his head. The voice yelling her name?

It was his own.

He hoped he was not looking into the future.

He hoped Crystal was making a mistake.

"KID!"

Wally's feet dragged as he came to a speedy stop.

His face stood inches away from a cement wall.

"We're here," Robin hopped off the yellow and red suited boy's back.

"and you need to get your head on straight." he said with a slightly playful tone. But it grew serious,

"We have a slight chance of running into the most powerful meta you'll ever meet. She took, the League and us *almost* into insanity, we really can't afford any mistakes."

"I do have my head on straight!" he snapped and walked into the phone booth disguising the zeta tube.

The usual voice announced their entry.

"Well?" Wally said with an irritated voice.

"I don't think they're here, scans show no-"

The zeta announced Kid Flash's exit.

"What why did-"

"They're in trouble." Miss Martian answered.

"How'd he know?!"

" I don't know, I… was only telepathically linked to Conner and I was just about to tell you. They need back up. He says they found Crystal but she isn't alone."

"Link everyone up telepathically."

It wasn't soon before M'gann would say

"Link established."


	15. Chapter 15, Cornering the End Game

"Wally way to abandon team!" Robin yelled over their telepathic communication.

He didn't respond.

"Is he linked?" he looked up at the Martian who was carrying him to where the others were.

They would have zeta'd if the Hall of Justice tubes would respond. They were busted.

"I don't know… I think our communication was.. hacked? Do you think it's Simon?"

Robin groaned and pushed his hand to his face.

"No, we're dealing with a telepath! I should have known, cut it off!"

She was hesitant, but did as she was told.

"This is not going as well as planned!"

…

Wally was hungry. He was tired. He carried a load of regret over his shoulder but above all,

he was determined.

Enough of being told what will and won't happen, he wasn't going to give anyone the chance to make his vision become reality.

He felt a sudden twitch in his mind, like a light flickered.

Unaware of what told him she was in danger.

He needed to go, and he couldn't wait for the others.

They were to

slow.

…

"Crystal! Can you hear me! You have to stop!" Artemis yelled while leaping out of the gun fire of Gorilla Grodd.

She was only equipped with a crossbow. Things were not going as well as planned.

"Come on, I know you can hear me!" she continued to try to get her attention but nothing seemed to make her budge.

She sat there as if nothing were happening, as if she were the only one there.

Things were really, really not looking good.

The JLA was heard smashing and laser shooting and throwing each other into orbit then smashing each other back. Meanwhile meta villains were making their own mess out of the Young Heroes who were the last line of defense.

The bowless archer was taking her last arrow to launch with the crossbow out of her belt when she was hit but unharmed by what looked like a red lightning bolt.

She gasped and dropped her weapons at the shock.

"Well those are long gone." The boy said as he kept running.

She felt the wind forcing her head towards him but she fought back.

"What are you doing?! Get back, we have a fight you moron!"

He didn't look at her, simply kept running.

"Yeah one that you're not gonna be in."

She darted a glare.

"Like I said im not-"

"Not an object. I never said you were, you don't understand-"

"Then why don't you help me understand!?" her anger was being let out.

The feeling she had been holding in broke free, and when Wally decided they were far enough, he stopped and put her down.

"What?" he responded. They were in an alley. They could only hear what was happening.

"You didn't want to tell them! Last time I saw you, you were mad at me and you didn't say why! I'm tired of being forced to guess what you're thinking! Do you or do you not love me?" as hard as the question was to ask, she pushed it. She pushed it out of her.

He was silent. As quick as he was, he wasn't ready for that question up front. Especially if she asked it.

After a minute, Artemis was done waiting for an answer. His silence gave her one.

"Fine, take me-"

Words weren't enough. He kissed her.

Despite everything, every doubt he had, and every difference between them, Wally knew the answer to her question.

He did love her.

The world went white and their lips parted.

Artemis' anger melted.

"What's happening?"

The archer noticed something, he was holding her hand. Tightly.

Something felt so terribly right about that. She held her smile in, whatever happened next would happen to the both of them. That was for sure.

Someone approached them. They both knew who. Crystal.

"Well look who it is. Mister 'I Dont have to love her'." since the first time they had met, the girl had never showed any emotion other than innocence, a stir of sadness.

Both heroes were stunned to see the look on her face.

She was happy.

"I knew a push was all you needed." she smirked and the boy immediately understood.

"You mean that was just to get me to admit!?" he yelled and she laughed as a response.

Her laugh lightened Artemis' heart, after all, she was only a little girl.

"What are you guys talking about?" the archer smiled in confusion.

"Nothing." he answered.

Crystal merely smile. There was only one thing left to ask.

"Did we win?"

Crystal's smile faded slowly.

"Not quite. Wally, you never told them about the emotions."

"He did, they took yours away."

Wally couldnt make direct eye contact.

Crystal answered the archer who seemed left in the dark.

"Yes but strong emotions trigger my own, you both are the reason I can feel for the moment. I have power now. I dont know how long this will last, but for the moment I have control of my abilities."

"That's great, so you can make the League stop fighting, right? Maybe kick in some of those cadmus jerks too if there's time. Afterwards we can figure out how to get your powers under control." In Wally's mind everything was working out for the first time in a very long time. He smiled and held Artemis' hand tighter.

However, Artemis noticed the look on Crystal's face.

"What's wrong?" Crystal gave a painful smile. She was not telling them something.

"Nothing im just overjoyed. You must return now. There is little time to waste. Thank you both, for everything."

Wally wanted to thank her but before he could, she was gone. He gave a quick glance at the blond beside him and she nodded. The world was back around them.

He picked her up and they were gone.


	16. Chapter 16, The end

When the archer and speedster arrived, their ears began to ring and the scene in front of them was bizarre. Their teammates fought the Injustice League in what seemed like slow motion.

The boy and girl looked at eachother confused.

The ground began to tremble and both frantically looked for Crystal. Even the battle of the Justice League grew slow and began to fade out behind them.

She would never admit it but Artemis was afraid.

The world was closing on them again until the only things visible were the colors black and white. A dark skinned woman stood far down a twisted hallway.

All three could hear the Young teammates yelling out for eachother.

"Artemis!"

"Kid!"

Thundering above them was Crystal, with white eyes that struck out lightning. She landed in between the pair and the woman.

Wally stepped in front of the archer staring ahead, and she refused to be 'protected'.

She stepped beside him and gave him a sharp look. He knew what she was getting at.

Together.

Crystal pointed at the woman on the other end of the hall.

Her voice was deeper than the sweet childish voice she usually had, it was darker and more frightening.

It was distorted.

"This woman… is the head of Cadmus…. And she… is the cause of all of this."

Artemis was holding back the fierce feeling to tremble. Her legs grew weak and she turned her head to Wally.

She realized he was having the same effect and suddenly they knew what was going to happen.

"She's going to kill her" Artemis whispered as they fell forward to their knees.

"Amanda. Waller." Crystal was becoming slightly blurred.

"We can't let her, Artemis."

He whispered and pressed his hands on the floor in an attempt to pick himself up. He failed.

"We did what needed to be done. A power like yours needs to be controlled so you wouldn't lose control."

Crystal lowered herself towards the woman and held her by the throat, tightly.

"Did you also kill my fiance for the greater good?"

Her voice cracked like thunder and lightning were having a war in her throat.

Amanda was gagging but managed to speak.

"Yes…. he made you… weak…"

Crystal gripped tighter.

Wally and Artemis were now in a bowing position using all their strength to keep their heads from sinking.

They groaned and grew more tired with every effort.

"Don't… do it Crystal!" Wally managed to speak through the the little strength he had.

"You don't understand." sadness grew in with the sound of her voice as she squeezed harder on the woman's throat.

"Pl...ease" was the speedsters last word as his body collapsed forward. Artemis looked at him as his body pressed against the ground and she thought for a moment .

'With this force…. She could kill us…'

"Crystal!" she yelled before joining the speedster, face first to the magnetic floors.

Crystal could not be stopped.

Amanda Waller was dead between her hands and Crystal slowly let go. Glowing tears fell from her lightning eyes and she sank to the floor.

The white and dark suddenly turned to a plain black around them.

The body of Amanda Waller lay before Crystal on a floor the could not be seen.

Artemis and Wally were barely breathing. Facing the other they laid flat on their stomachs.

Crystal sobbed on her knees.

-secret facility spectating-

"He's going to kill herself!"

"Her power could stop the Justice League and do so much more, we haven't even studied her enough to know!"

"Dont threat." a dark voice spoke.

"Once again we will use these heroes to our advantage."

A couple of clicks and suddenly a change of scenes for Artemis and Wally.

Wally awoke and was back in a familiar area. A grass field.

There was something off about the place.

Wally West was not alone. There stood a girl not to far from him. Her hair blowing in the wind as the moon shone down on her hair making it look like a silver lined gold.

He smiled.

"Artemis!" he ran towards her but flew back as if he were thrown away from her.

She slowly turned to look at him and a tear slipped from her blue eyes.

"You promised to keep me safe"

Wally got up from the grass and stared at her.

A man walked up behind her and grabbed her from the collar, throwing her back.

He lifted his weapon above her head and Wally didn't have a second thought.

His mind slowed everything as he ran at his top speed towards the man.

But it wasn't enough. His eyes widened and he tackled the man seconds after he killed the girl who laid on the floor.

" **Noo!** "

Something flickered in his mind.

Something dark. A powerful taste filled his mouth and poisoned his veins.

It was rage.

"Oof!"

Artemis shook her head as she got up from the grass. She was confused.

"Wally what are you doing?" she said as she crawled away from him.

He tackled her and now he was walking towards her with a chilling look.

"Wall-""

Before her sentence finished he was on her with his hands around her neck pressing.

Artemis was stunned.

He wasn't holding back, his strength forced onto her without a word.

"ekc Wa...lly" she struggled under his grasp but he did not stop for a moment.

He didn't even flinch.

His eyes of emerald green seemed to lose their shine.

Artemis was gasping and pulling at his hands with her remaining strength.

"Wally!" a voice came from the clouds.

"You're killing her!" it said with desperation.

"You're going to kill her!"

The only thing that ran through the speedster mind was how badly he wanted to take this man's life.

A whisper landed on his ear.

"You're killing Artemis."

His eyes widened and he stopped.

Realization hit him like a bag of bricks.

The image of a man faded in his hands and he pulled himself away slowly from the throat of the archer who did not move.

"Artemis!?" his eyes glistened and a tear managed to escape.

He looked at his own hands with absolute disbelief.

'What did I just do'

"I'm sorry." he repeated.

"I'm so sorry"

Their surroundings faded away and their team, bruised and scraped, surrounded him and Artemis.

Crystal walked towards the group and placed her hand on Wally's shoulder who couldn't lift his face from the chest of Artemis.

"She will live, Wally."

She smiled and slowly departed from him.

"She will live."

Artemis lifted her arms over the boy, wrapping them around his shoulders, smiling.

He felt it and immediately lifted his head to meet his eyes with hers.

"Wally I-"

"Love you." he smiled and kissed her head hugging her body to his.

She smirked and looked at him with silvery eyes.

"I think you can do better than that."

He chuckled and lowered his head down and instantly locked lips.

"It was over.

But in a way, the end was the start of a new beginning.

Crystal took her life for two reasons. To prevent herself from hurting others, and to be reunited with her loved one.

The original plan was to kill Artemis so there wouldn't be two strong emotions empowering Crystal.

They used her power to create the scene and images that were never really there.

But Crystal overcame the programming, and stopped Wally before it was too late.

The Justice League finally stopped fighting, and we have a whole bunch of explaining to do...

I don't think i've ever been a part of such a crazy, mind messing mission…

I think I speak for everyone, especially Wally and Artemis when I say

I'm just glad it's finally over."

Robin closed his laptop and set it aside.

He looked at the archer and speedster who sat laughing and smiling, hand and hand on the seat of an expanded motorcycle.

A breeze blew over them as they landed and the Boy Wonder smiled.

It's over.


	17. Thank You!

**Thank you for the patience and reviews! I hope you enjoyed, this had to be my favorite fanfic I ever wrote. Keep on the look out for more spitfire on my page *wink wink*, thanks again!**


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